Nuclear Waste Management

Affiliations

NucleUS Immobilisation Science Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

About the authors

Claire Corkhill is a Reader in mineralogy and materials science at the University of Sheffield, UK, and currently holds an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Early Career Research Fellowship. Her research focuses on understanding the relationship between surface chemistry, microstructure and dissolution kinetics in nuclear waste materials. Her particular focus is the corrosion of oxide ceramics (e.g. uranium oxide), aluminoborosilicate glass and cement materials. Recent work includes development of synchrotron-based diffraction and spectroscopy methodologies to observe slow material degradation processes over long timescales, relevant to the geological disposal of nuclear waste.

Neil Hyatt holds a Chair in Radioactive Waste Management in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, UK , is a visiting Professor at Washington State University, and is a member of HM's Government Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB). He is Director of the NucleUS Immobilisation Science Laboratory, the UK's leading academic centre for radioactive waste research. His research focuses on developing strategy, materials, processes and policy to support the safe, timely and efficient clean-up of the UK radioactive waste legacy. A key aspect of his research is the design, manufacture and performance assessment of glass and ceramic materials for the immobilisation of plutonium residues, legacy intermediate level wastes and high level wastes from reprocessing operations.